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in this County, bore the Appellation of Hume, Ker, Hay, Douglas, &c. One of these Families, that of SWINTON, deserves Notice, on Account of the singular Longevity of its CHIEFS, at a time when almost every Man of Distinction, sooner or later, fell in Battle. Sir ISAAC NEWTON, in his Chronology, calculates, that in no Series of KINGS, the average Duration of each of their Reigns, exceeds Twenty-one Years. Now it would appear, that Twenty-two BARONS, including the late Proprietor, have occupied the Lands of SWINTON, during the long Period of Seven Hundred, thirty-one Years; which proves, that in a most turbulent Aristocracy, amidst feudal Broils, and foreign Wars, a Succession of Border CHIEFTAINS, enjoyed their Estates at an Average, each, more than Thirty-three Years,

Caithness.

THURSO has from its Industry in the FISH ERIES* brought itself into Notice, and from

* Among the modern Improvements in the Concerns of the Fisheries, that of the PATENT CASK, promises to be

its Perseverance will acquire more Celebrity. Salmon and Herrings are the Chief, though a

greatly beneficial. The Perfection of a CASK, (presuming the Materials to be good), consists in its Construction, and by this new devised Process, the Staves of each Class (whether Kegg, Firkin, Barrel, Tierce, Butt, or any other Description), are cut and moulded by a fixed Scale, so that a single Stave is a perfect Counterpart in Form, of every other of its Class; the Heads and Bottoms, are similarly formed and joined, and their Chimes and Grooves being cut by Machinery, must fit with geometrical Accuracy, and this Construction alone, can attain that precise Adaptation of Parts, which forms a solid and perfect Whole, giving to every part an equal and undeviating Power, of sustaining internal and external Pressure. It is also apparent, that a Vessel, formed on these Principles, of an equal Thickness, must resist the Effects of Rolling, Carriage, Falling, &c. longer than those made in the common Way. To obtain the indispensable Object of Tightness, Rushes are usually introduced at the Junction of the Staves, and the Insertion of the Head and Bottom, but in the PATENT CASK, no such Assistance is required, its Construction necessarily rendering it Air tight. The Facility with which the PATENT CASK can be repaired, must be to the Merchant, or Trader, of serious Moment: If a Head be lost, or a Stave broke, either may be immediately taken from a damaged or spare Cask of the same Class, which, it is obvious, must fit equally well with the Original.

It is to the Fish-curer, Distiller, Brewer, Provision Merchant, Vinegar Maker, Oil Merchant, and those numerous Trades requiring Casks capable of safely containing Liquid,

considerable Number of Cod-fish are taken. Not less than seven thousand Barrels of Her-. rings, are annually exported.

that this Invention is submitted, and they are solicited by the PATENTEES, to the severest Trial of the PATENT CASK. The Engines are already of sufficient Power to manufac ture, from five Hundred to a Thousand per DAY, consequently those frequent Demands for a constant Supply can be met, without the risk of Disappointment, Advance of Price, or having an inferior Article. In some cases the Law requires, that the Staves of certain Casks shall be a specified Thickness, and it is impossible, the PATENT CASK can fail, Uniformity of Thickness and Mould, being inseparable from its Principle. Every Exporter of Provisions or Fish has experienced, (from the Admission of Air into their Casks,) a Loss amounting to a high per Centage on the Invoice Price. This Evil may be considered as totally prevented, by the PATENT CASK. The Expence is likewise considerably reduced, a Piece of Plank, eighteen inches wide, four and a half thick, and five feet long, will make one hundred and twenty Herring Barrel Staves, or four HERRING BARRELS. About fifteen of these Pieces of Plank, constitute a Fathom, which will cut into Eighteen hundred Staves of the above Sort, and make Forty Herring Barrels. The Price of the Plank, is three pounds five shillings the Fathom; Cost of conversion, TEN SHILLINGS per thousand, or in all, three pounds fifteen shillings, and the Value of them so converted, is Fifteen pounds per thousand. GUNPOWDER, cannot be preserved securely from Air, and consequently from Damp, except in the PATENT CASK; of this Fact, and likewise of the Saving in the Price, GOVERNMENT are so convinced, that

Lochmere Castle, hanging over the River issuing from the Loch, is reported to have been built and inhabited by a Personage called, Morra na Shean, that is, "The Lord of the Game or Venison," it is also said, there was a Chest or some kind of Machine, fixed in the mouth of the Stream below the Castle, for catching Salmon in their Ingress to, or Egress from, the Loch; and that immediately when a Fish was entangled, the Capture was announced to the whole Family, by the ringing of a Bell fixed in the Middle of an upper Room, and which was set in Motion, by the Struggles of the Fish to escape.

Dogs, in the ORKNEY Islands, are of considerable Importance. To a little Farmer, a Dog is more valuable than a Horse or a Cow, because he has no other Mode of protecting his Corn.. The Business of the Shepherd like

an Order for a very large Quantity has been given, to which they supply their own COPPER HOOPS.

The SCOTCH Patent bears Date 22d of May 1812, and is an allowed Branch from the ENGLISH one, the Manufactory of the latter, is carried on at FULHAM, Middlesex, to an immense Extent and Advantage, to both the PATENTEES and the PUBLIC.

wise, could not be effected without his Aid; after a Sheep is singled out in a Flock, and made the Object of his Notice, the Victim is soon seized, and a sagacious, well-taught Sheep-dog, trips them up, by laying hold of one of the Fore-legs, and by this means effectually stops any further Progress.

In the SHETLAND Islands, are many Rocks inhabited by Swarms of Kittiwakes, and in the Parish of North Mevan are two very high Pillars, on which the large kind of Cormorants nestle, and, what is remarkable, only successively, for the Rock that is possessed by them one Year, is deserted the next, and returned to again the following Season. In this manner have these Rocks been occupied, from Time immemorial.

Dunbartonshire.

LOCHLOMOND, whether for Extent, or Variety and Magnificence of Scenery, is probably not to be equalled by any Lake in BRITAIN: its Beauties have been so accurately

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